Scandals at companies like Enron and WorldCom had shaken investor confidence in the accuracy of corporate financial statements. Republicans began to feel pressure to enact reform as the midterm elections approached, so under hurried circumstances they proposed a bill that increased fines and jail time for fraudulent reporting of finances. This bill passed (vote no. 299), and though Progressives agreed with its provisions in general, they did not feel the bill went far enough to curb malfeasance by corporate executives. House and Senate negotiators had yet to work together to develop a final version of the bill. Taking advantage of this situation, Conyers (D-MI) moved to instruct the negotiators from the House side to accept certain changes in the Senate bill, including protections for corporate whistleblowers, an extension of the statute of limitations for claims of securities fraud, forcing auditors to maintain records of an audit for at least five years, and increasing prison sentences in cases of fraud with extremely negative consequences. Progressives supported this motion as a way to beef up the regulations in the bill, but it was rejected 207-218.